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Ancient History

First Lady A Climber
Scientists using sophisticated scanning technology on the fossil bones of the ancient human ancestor from Ethiopia dubbed "Lucy" have determined that she was adept at climbing trees as well as walking. (Lucy and fossils, gerund following preposition.)Upper-Intermediate

London's Perilous Past
Londoners in the 17th century were never far from danger as plague, infant mortality and angry mobs menaced the capital, burial records showed. This research is a window into one of the most turbulent periods of London's past. (London, history, seventeenth century.)Intermediate

Permits Required
In the land where Jesus lived, Christians say their dwindling numbers are turning churches from places of worship into museums. And when Christian pilgrims come from all over the world to visit the places of Christ's birth, death and resurrection, they find them divided by a concrete wall. As a boy growing up in Jerusalem, Yacoub Dahdal saw Christians from all over the Middle East converge on the city at Easter time to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.Advanced

Roman Chariots in England
Archaeologists have found remains of a chariot racing track in Colchester. 8,000 people probably watched chariot races at the track. Archaeologist, Philip Crummy thinks the track is one of the most exciting things he has found. (History, chariot racing, archaeology, the Romans, brainstorming, comprehension, true or false, reading for understanding, comparative adjectives and superlative adjectives.)Elementary

Inventions
This warmer produces lively discussion and gives students practice using the past passive.Intermediate

The Great Shrinking Wall
The Great Wall of China is shrinking as tourism and development take their toll on one of the world's most famous monuments. (Famous structures, the Great Wall of China, seven wonders of the world, matching information and pictures, completing a table, constructing questions, finding evidence, summarizing, listening for specific information, infinitive of purpose, discussion.)Intermediate

The Mummy's Curse
King Tutankhamen's infamous "curse of the mummy's tomb," supposed to have killed off many of those involved in the opening of the pharaoh's tomb 80 years ago was a myth, Australian researchers say. (Ancient Egypt, curses, mummies, archeology, brainstorming, matching sentence halves, scanning, comprehension, true, false or not given, complete the statements, past participles, writing an e-mail, role play.)Upper-Intermediate

Emerald Discovered in Shell
A diver has discovered a large emerald in a conch shell while diving at the site of a 380-year-old wrecked Spanish galleon. (Describing a picture, understanding a picture sequence, matching information and pictures, summarizing, listening for correct information, while with past simple and past continuous tenses, word find puzzle, discussion.)Pre-Intermediate

I Want To Be Alone
More than 200 years after they went out of fashion in Britain, professional hermits are back in the job market. (Hermits, the advantages and disadvantages of living alone, predicting from the headline, comprehension, true, false or not given, discussion, present perfect and simple past tenses.)Intermediate

Lost Palace
Workers building a new town hall in Nicosia, Cyprus found the remains of an 800-year-old Lusigan palace whose whereabouts has been a mystery for centuries. (Medieval buildings and archaeological discoveries, Cyprus, reading for detail, discussion, time expressions with 'for', word find.)Elementary

School
Max takes us on a journey through the history of words associated with places of learning.Intermediate

Dead as a Dodo
Scientists at Oxford University have extracted DNA from a dodo, the famous flightless bird hunted to extinction in the 17th century. (DNA, endangered animals, summarizing, question words.)Advanced

Who Wears the Trousers
Max tells us the history of the words used to describe different kinds of trousers.Intermediate

Gladiator!
Archaeologists in London have unearthed the remains of a female Roman-era gladiator. A good lesson to tie in with the movie called Gladiator. (movies, homophones, history, sports, quotation/speech marks)
Intermediate

A Hitch In Your Hike
Peru plans to limit the thousands of visitors who hike its well-worn Inca Trail, because it says the ancient road is overrun by tourists.
(Tourism, Peru, conservation, participles.)
Intermediate

Fair and Fit
Researchers have figured out how fairness may fit into the Darwinian concept of evolution.
(Research, evolution, fair play, health)
Upper-Intermediate to Advanced